John Rhys-Davies, Rutger Hauer for lost Star Wars spin-off

The pair are the first cast to be confirmed for the film, which is based on George Lucas’ 1979 lost short film of the same name and comes nearly 40 years after it was first screened alongside Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back in 1980.

Welsh star John, who played the dwarf Gimli in Peter Jackson’s Lord Of The Rings films, will play King Aeolus, while Dutch actor Rutger will portray High Priest Sirdar.

French actress Laura Weissbecker has been cast as princess Kyna, the daughter of King Aeolus.

Oscar-winning filmmaker Roger Christian – who wrote and directed the original short film, described by the Star Wars creator as “one of the most enigmatic films he’d ever seen” – will direct and write this full-length feature, which is due to start production in September in locations such as Hungary, Belgium, Morocco and Scotland.

Fans all over the world are being invited to be a part of the movie by donating via the crowdfunding platform Indiegogo, with a target of £66,000 within 45 days.

Roger said: “I wrote Black Angel as an epic adventure inspired by the great samurai films. For the feature film I want the audience to experience the intensity of the battles where life or death is the only prize.

“With flying demons and sorcerers, princesses and knights, armies of the undead and an evil god of the underworld, we are filming down and dirty; ultimate realism that audiences hunger for and the world I am passionate to create on film again.”

He added: “Black Angel: The Feature Film is being made for the fans and crowd-funding is the best way of ensuring creative freedom so that audiences get the film they want to see made.”

Contributors will get the opportunity to receive exclusive perks, from an invite to the film’s red carpet premiere, to a part in the film as an extra in the Demon King’s army and even the chance to own a piece of the actual film negative from the original Star Wars: A New Hope, given to Roger by George Lucas himself.

Black Angel: The Feature Film will be “an epic fantasy”, based on a knight who has to fight the Black Angel, the Demon Kings commander in the lands of Serandal to stop his reign, with guidance from sorcerer Myrddin and help by Princess Kyna, the daughter of a rival king.

After the short film was screened in cinemas, all copies of the short film were lost, until an archivist at Universal Studios found a negative in December 2011.

Star Wars producer Gary Kurtz said: “I’m so pleased for Roger and his crew as they embark on making this visionary short into the feature-length film it so deserves to be.

“I think the Indiegogo campaign is a great way for fans to get involved in what could be the last remaining part uncovered from the Star Wars legacy.”